EPTAny tips/links would be appreciated. I just need some sound advice on how to start. Im thinking of starting off with something like $1000 and playing it safe to get a feel for how the market works. Thanks.
Help getting started in stock market
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gameguard
Korea (South)2132 Posts
Any tips/links would be appreciated. I just need some sound advice on how to start. Im thinking of starting off with something like $1000 and playing it safe to get a feel for how the market works. Thanks. | ||
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ShadowDrgn
United States2497 Posts
Starting with $1000 is a bit low because brokers charge commission fees on every trade (5-10 bucks). You can get "x free trades" or "trade free for 30 days" type deals, but they usually require you depositing a larger sum of money than $1000. A general rule of thumb is not to spend more than 1% of any purchase on fees, so you'd be hard pressed to buy more than 2 stocks without incurring excessive fees. Investing in only 1-2 stocks is also akin to gambling, which isn't what you want to be doing. Also, here's a good site for learning the basics: http://www.fool.com/investing/basics/index.aspx I'm a member of their stock advisor service, and I'm up 16% this year despite how crappy the market has been. | ||
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Shivaz
Canada1783 Posts
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bigsack
Korea (North)220 Posts
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gameguard
Korea (South)2132 Posts
On May 12 2009 13:46 ShadowDrgn wrote: First, you sign up with a broker like TD Ameritrade, E*Trade, or Scottrade. Then you transfer funds from a bank account or just mail your broker a check, and then you use that money to buy shares. Starting with $1000 is a bit low because brokers charge commission fees on every trade (5-10 bucks). You can get "x free trades" or "trade free for 30 days" type deals, but they usually require you depositing a larger sum of money than $1000. A general rule of thumb is not to spend more than 1% of any purchase on fees, so you'd be hard pressed to buy more than 2 stocks without incurring excessive fees. Investing in only 1-2 stocks is also akin to gambling, which isn't what you want to be doing. Also, here's a good site for learning the basics: http://www.fool.com/investing/basics/index.aspx I'm a member of their stock advisor service, and I'm up 16% this year despite how crappy the market has been. hmm, I can start with 3000. Is it a bad time right now to be getting into stocks? Whats the deferences between ETF and all those other types of stocks? Would it be a good idea to copy someone's transactions? Is it better to look for longterm investment or try to actively trade. What are some good general strategies? | ||
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ShadowDrgn
United States2497 Posts
Right now is a fairly average time to invest. If you're interested in getting started, now is as good of a time as any. I'm definitely no expert about ETFs or other types of funds - I just buy stocks. You shouldn't try to "actively trade" without knowing anything. You'll essentially be competing with billion dollar hedge funds and supercomputer algorithms. Good luck with that.  The best strategy is to find good companies, buy shares in them, and hold onto them for a long time (as long as the company is still making smart moves). | ||
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Cambium
United States16368 Posts
On May 12 2009 13:40 gameguard wrote: Well, I am a total noob in stocks. I really dont know where to begin. I did some quick reseach and found out that I really dont know anything. All these terms and stuff really confuses me. And I looked at some sites like TradKing.com and I cant really grasp how the system works. Any tips/links would be appreciated. I just need some sound advice on how to start. Im thinking of starting off with something like $1000 and playing it safe to get a feel for how the market works. Thanks. Please take some econ courses before dumping money into the stock market... | ||
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Shivaz
Canada1783 Posts
On May 12 2009 14:15 Cambium wrote: Please take some econ courses before dumping money into the stock market... This would be a good idea. It will be smart to start off with low amounts like $100 (Although you probably won't make much), but if you do lose it you can think of it as a learning experience instead of going oh shit I just lost $1000-3000. | ||
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gameguard
Korea (South)2132 Posts
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Shivaz
Canada1783 Posts
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Jayme
United States5866 Posts
On May 12 2009 14:15 Cambium wrote: Please take some econ courses before dumping money into the stock market... Advanced ones too. Basic macro/microeconomics isn't going to help you understand what you really need to preform in the stock markets. Take basic Macro/Micro.. and then the 2nd semester in both and that should be enough to at least give you a good foothold. Don't do active trades unless you're some sort of market genius, really... just don't. Start REALLY small. You won't make much but it's better than going "well DAMN there goes a couple grand because of lack of experience" After you start gaining some confidence use more money. On May 12 2009 13:48 Shivaz wrote: I don't think this is the right site to be asking this kind of advice. It's a pretty high quality forum with people from all over with good expertise in any amount of subjects. Here is as good as place as any bar the hardcore market/economic forums (there aren't that many good ones) | ||
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decafchicken
United States20168 Posts
Thats all i remember my microecon teacher saying when he briefly touched on investing ~.~ | ||
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mahnini
United States6862 Posts
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DeathSpank
United States1029 Posts
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RHCPgergo
Hungary345 Posts
On May 12 2009 14:28 Jayme wrote: Here is as good as place as any bar the hardcore market/economic forums (there aren't that many good ones) What are these good, hardcore market/economic forums? edit: I also want to get into this stockmarket thing. I've never actually traded before, but I've been watching the hungarian stock exchange for a while. It's far from a perfect market: the trading volumen of most of the papers is not very big: we can call it a smaller market. The forming trends are often blown away by a data or another trend coming from the western stock exchanges. That's why I'm leaning towards trading on bigger, markets. | ||
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jgad
Canada899 Posts
On May 12 2009 14:33 decafchicken wrote: Diversify! Thats all i remember my microecon teacher saying when he briefly touched on investing ~.~ Old wisdom that no longer applies. Diversifying worked during the major bubbles of the past 20 years or so, but that's all turned around at the moment. Not all sectors are doing well right now and certainly many sectors have a bleak outlook for the future. To diversify across everything is the easiest way to mitigate risk, but it is by far not the best. For someone with only a few grand to invest there are a few options, depending on what you want that money to be doing for you. Is it disposable cash that you're looking to risk or is it something you want to keep relatively safe but to make generally better gains than a savings account? Risk tolerance will dictate what you do. If risk is no issue you'll always have higher upside potential by buying one or two very well researched stocks. There are also double bull and bear ETFs that make 200% (gains and losses), for example, of an underlying market, for example HOU, on the TSE, tracks oil at 2X return. When oil was hitting highs last year one share was going for over $220, recently it's been bobbing around $5-6. If oil goes up 10%, HOU goes up about 20%, same if it goes down, so you can get rich or you can get burned. If you want your money in a safer place, I think ETFs and ETNs are the way to go - that way you customise your exposure across sectors. For commodities I like things like RJI, an ETF done by the Swedish Bank, Svensk AB, which tracks the Rogers International Commodity Index. There are also sector specific ones like RJA, RJN, RJZ, which track, in particular, agriculture, energy, and metals. For investment, look for quality companies with low P/E ratios and which pay dividends - in particular, at the moment, I would say that mining, resources, industrial and agricultural sectors are the ones to be in. I've made big gains recently on good Canadian coal and uranium companies - commodities and energy resources are, I think, only going to go higher in the forseeable future. Lots of people are jumping back into the banks, and it may do for a couple weeks or a few months, but personally I think we're seeing a bear-market rally at the moment and a lot of stuff is going to crash further than it already has. I leave it to you to decide for yourself, mind you - it's your money and not mine. I would definitely shy away from ANY stocks in the US at the moment unless you are damned sure about what you are buying. Lots of better buys elsewhere, especially in Asia. There are Asia-specific ETFs, for example, like GXC, EWS, FXI, PGJ, EWH, EWY, etc, which I think will do well in the coming years. I don't know, one could go on - it's a big, huge, messy, tangled world. Getting your head around the markets is a lot of work and requires discipline and commitment. If you rely too much on trusting other people rather than on acquiring knowledge for yourself you will end up bald and with heart problems. Investing in the market requires a cool head and an iron stomach. Don't take it lightly, that's all I can say. | ||
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RHCPgergo
Hungary345 Posts
On May 12 2009 15:33 jgad wrote: Old wisdom that no longer applies. Diversifying worked during the major bubbles of the past 20 years or so, but that's all turned around at the moment. Not all sectors are doing well right now and certainly many sectors have a bleak outlook for the future. To diversify across everything is the easiest way to mitigate risk, but it is by far not the best. What other ways are there to mitigate risk? Diversifying across everything was never the best way, but you definitely should diversify across at least a few things, no? (I'm not calling you out, I'm just seeking knowledge, as you seem to be far better informed about this subject.) | ||
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jgad
Canada899 Posts
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gameguard
Korea (South)2132 Posts
btw, what are some sites you recommend for info on stocks and the economy? btw what do you think about GM? Are they going bankrupt? Im probably way behind on this issue lol.. but i saw that GM stocks are dirt cheap. | ||
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jgad
Canada899 Posts
btw, what are some sites you recommend for info on stocks and the economy? As much as you can afford to read from as many places as possible. Depending on the markets you'll be investing in you'll want to find a good stock screener - just google for them, really, there are lots. Some try to charge you money but there's not much point as there are plenty of free ones unless you're getting serious about putting lots of money in and trading all day long. | ||
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